Two suspects were nabbed after they sold more than a ton of stolen metal to an area scrap dealer last month.Read the related story.

While law enforcement authorities in Muskegon, Oceana and northern Ottawa counties say they haven't seen many catalytic converter thefts, it's only a matter of time before the area catches up to the rest of the state and nation.

"It's on the radar," said Harlan Rypma, who is in charge of service operations at Don Rypma Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac in Whitehall. "We've been notified that it's been cropping up in the area."

Global demand has resulted in higher prices for scrap and recycled metals. When the price of copper started rising, for example, so did the number of copper thefts, including those reported to police in the Muskegon area.

The copper theft epidemic has thieves stealing from homes under construction, vacant homes, churches, farms, businesses and utility companies. A survey by the U.S. Department of Energy found that copper thefts cost utility companies nearly $1 billion during a one-year period.

Thieves are targeting catalytic converters largely because they contain small amounts of three precious metals -- platinum, palladium and rhodium. The metals are used in the lining of the converter.

Extracting the precious metals from a catalytic converter isn't something backyard thieves can do themselves -- like removing the copper from an air conditioner before visiting the local metal recycler.

Bryan McGannon, spokesman for the Washington D.C.-based Institute of Scrap Recycling, said there are very few places that process catalytic converters for the three metals.

"Local scrap dealers, in most cases, collect the catalytic converters and move them on," McGannon said, adding that prices paid by scrap dealers for catalytic converters vary greatly throughout the country.

"We advise our members that unless you have an existing relationship with an auto dismantler or an auto shop, you should take a long, hard look at someone bringing in a truck load of catalytic converters," McGannon said.

So far, the Rypma dealership in Whitehall has had to replace only one stolen catalytic converter for a customer. That was about three months ago. Ironically, the victimized pickup truck belonged to a police officer. It had been parked in a car pool lot.

Several other area dealerships contacted by The Chronicle did not report any catalytic converter replacements due to theft.

Rypma said if a vehicle's catalytic converter has been stolen, "as soon as you start your engine, you'll know. It sounds like you have no exhaust. It sounds like a race car."

He does not recommend driving to a repair shop. Call a wrecker. If the catalytic converter is missing, "you've got heat going places it shouldn't be. It could be melting the components underneath the car," he said.

Rypma said replacing a catalytic converter may cost anywhere from $600 to $900 because some vehicles have up to four converters. "Quite often they are in an assembly where they all come together. If one is stolen, you have to buy the whole assembly," he said.

The Muskegon County Sheriff's Department has only one reported catalytic converter theft. It occurred in the car pool lot at Fruitvale Road and U.S. 31.

Oceana County Sheriff's Lt. Buzz Angell said his department received a couple reports of catalytic converter thefts from vehicles parked at the car pool lot at Stony Lake Road and U.S. 31.

Both departments said the complaints were received in late summer or early fall 2007. Angell also said there have been some reports of junk cars in the Hesperia area being targeted.

Dennis Edwards, Grand Haven Public Safety director, said his agency has not had any catalytic converter thefts reported.

A reputable welding and fabrication company in Toledo, OH. has a new patented theft deterrent designed just for catalytic converters . It makes too much work for the thieves in a hurry. The CatClamp is the only security system on the market designed exclusively to fight catalytic converter theft. It was in Newsweek online in January 09, 2008. Go to Catclamp.com the CatClamp is much cheaper than repairing a vehicle after catalytic converter theft.

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